Tornado watch extended to 2 a.m., 2 dead in Oklahoma

At least two people died after a tornado touched down in Oklahoma tonight. Tornado warnings in Missouri, meanwhile, have been lifted, although the less severe tornado watches remain in effect.

It was not immediately clear if a tornado or tornadoes had touched down in Missouri or if there was damage, but the Associated Press issued a report saying at least two people were dead after a tornado hit Quapaw, Oklahoma. The extent of the damage was still unknown.

The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings — indicating suspected tornadoes had been spotted — early this evening in southwest Missouri near the Joplin area. Soon after, the weather service extended a tornado watch in the Springfield area until 2 a.m.

A tornado watch remains in effect in Springfield as utility crews continue working on scattered power outages that followed a mid-day storm that passed through Springfield.

The tornado watch, now in effect until 2 a.m., includes much of southwest Missouri, including counties surrounding the Springfield and Branson areas.

A series of thunderstorms was expected to travel across the area this afternoon and evening, passing out of the eastern Ozarks about midnight, according to the National Weather Service.

The storms were forecast to be strong to severe, bringing an elevated risk of tornadoes and damaging winds and significant risks of hail and lightning.

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"The greatest risk for a few intense tornadoes will exist across much of Arkansas perhaps into western and central Missouri," a weather service advisory said.

After storms passed through Springfield early this afternoon, meteorologist Ryan Kardell said the NWS is watching to see if further severe weather develops. Kardell did say more rain is expected in the Springfield metro area during the early evening.

No major damage has been reported, Kardell said. The NWS has recorded about three-tenths of an inch of rain in Springfield this afternoon.

"It's been pretty good. We'll have to keep watching and see what happens off to the west," Kardell said.

Earlier in the day, City Utilities reported it was working on outages in northwest Springfield.

At about 2 p.m., CU's outage map showed up to 49 customers reporting lack of power near North Kansas Expressway between West Chestnut Expressway and Kearney Street. Between 50 and 499 outages have been reported north of Kearney Street along North Summit Road.

At about 3:30 p.m., CU reported the largest group of outages had been repaired but crews continued working on others.

CU advises residents to call 1-888-863-9001 to report outages.

Even if tornadoes don't form, some areas could see hail and high winds, forecasters said, warning the hail could be as big as baseballs and wind gusts could reach hurricane-force — 75 mph or higher.

Regionally, The Missouri Highway Patrol reported a tractor-trailer was blown onto its side on Interstate 70 about 30 miles east of Kansas City at about 1 p.m. No injuries were reported.